Race Recap: Will Run For Hot Chocolate
5/23/2019
The older and wiser I get, the more I stress the importance of practice. Actors have dress rehearsals before their musical debut. TED Talk speakers rehearse their speeches before the official recording. Triathletes spend training sessions working out the kinks of their transition between swimming to hopping on the bike just to shave off a few seconds of their time in an upcoming race. Big chain restaurants/coffee shops learn how to prepare the latest thing on the menu before it’s a big rush morning and hundreds of people start ordering said menu item and expect it to be ready for them by the time of pickup.
One of the strategies I’m taking for my giant undertaking of the marathon is to “rehearse” the race and go for a dry run (no pun intended). Besides going on long runs on my own once a week, I signed up for a few longer races along the way. I really enjoy race day; I love the energy of bringing a bunch of people together for a common cause. I love that athletes come in all shapes and sizes, and that each individual has their own set of goals. I love the rush of adrenaline I get when lined up in the corral before the gun. And as soon as the gun (or buzzer) goes off, the rush of running past people to find an empty pocket of space to run at your own pace. There are a number of emotions running through the brain and hormones through the bloodstream to make each start both exciting and frightening as hell. My stomach does flipturns like a swimmer in a 200-meter individual medley before every race, and often before every run. I’ve found that when trying to break a conditioned response, you must face those fears head-on to change the association. For example, I’m afraid of heights and closed spaces to an extent, and ways I’ve combatted these things to feel a little better about them is to do things like go ziplining and visit caves. Were they scary? Yes, but they had great views. By having more “official” races, I’ll be able to ease up at the start line and remember how fun it is, rather than feeling frazzled every time for one reason or another.
My first race of the year was a Hot Chocolate 15k in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on April 27, 2019. It was raining buckets the day before the race, when I had to go pick up my bib number and cool swag. I had never been to that park before, so I wandered around in the pouring rain carrying too much stuff to try to find where the start line was for an easier morning. The race was going to start at 7am, and although I was staying in Brooklyn that night to be nearby, I didn’t want to feel extra anxious the next morning.
I was anxious on race morning anyway since my uber couldn’t find me, so I had to dart to the starting line. I was supposed to be in the first corral, but I started with the second corral just to tie my shoes tighter.
My loose leggings were falling down uncomfortably, I was holding 2 Poland Spring water bottles (dropping one on the way), my long, heavy locks were not in the French braids that I usually wear for a long race, my jacket was not holding my phone properly when I needed it to...I felt too klutzy in a way. I had no time to warm up, so I felt like I couldn’t figure out what speed was appropriate.
It took a few moments to get my MapMyRun working and my music on, and little did I know that choosing a random Latin uptempo playlist on Amazon Prime Music would be my race pace playlist for most of my race season. I was determined to go as fast as I did for the previous half marathons I’ve raced, since 15k is only a few miles shorter.
I love this sweatshirt swag! Here I am at the start with too many things in my hands.
My personal training client that lived near Prospect Park warned me about a giant hill, but this course wanted runners to take it twice. I just followed the cadence of my fast playlist to jet past some runners that looked to be taking their sweet time on the course. I was conflicted; I wanted to stop and take a photo or two by some beautiful magnolia trees that were blooming in time for the Cherry Blossom festival taking place at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden right after the race. However, I didn’t want to stop and ruin my time and tried to make a mental note about where to find the tree afterward.
It was the perfect temperature for me; cool enough to need to move to warm up, but not a temperature where I would have to shed layers as I heated up. I wore the soft maroon zipup hoodie from packet pickup, and it is still one of my favorite pieces of race swag. I just wish I wore my tighter leggings because I hated pulling up my pants every few minutes.
Despite these nuisances, I got into a running flow and the time passed by really quickly, likely because I had so many new surroundings to look at along the way. Once I saw the finish line within a football field’s distance away, I booked it. I had my eyes on a few runners that I wanted to pass by the end, so I went in an all-out sprint and left nothing on the table. It felt great to pass the finish line, but I noticed my left knee felt out of whack. I had to hobble a little bit, and I attributed the pain to not having a good warmup.
As advertised, the post-race party offered up a cup of hot chocolate, marshmallows, graham crackers, and a banana to dip into your own personal bowl of melted chocolate. After giving it your best effort for more than 9 miles, any and all sweets are welcome to replenish the carbohydrates used up in the race, even if on a normal day the treats would be too sweet. Between holding the hot chocolate apparatus, my finisher medal, and my water bottle situation, I parked myself on the corner of a table to keep everything together and my hands free. It was here that a nice woman asked if I could take a quick photo of her with her medal, and she would do the same for me. We talked about the race and chatted about running in general when she mentioned that she was part of an unofficial running group that called themselves the “Running Mermaids” and I felt my jaw drop out of surprise for this crazy coincidence. Habby wasn’t wearing anything to indicate she liked mermaids, but I happen to have a great affinity toward these mystical creatures. I was going to wear my mermaid leggings that day, but they were too loose to run in, so it was just fate to meet someone else who has something in common with me without any visual cue to prompt a conversation.
I considered it a successful race day. I made a new friend, got a great new hoodie, and the stats were even better. I finished the 15k distance in 1:17:20, PR’d my splits for that distance at 8:18 per mile, 148/1396 Overall, 62/998 Female, 11/145 F30-34. I was exhausted the rest of the day because I lacked conditioning at the time, but I set the bar high for all the races that were to come in peak season. I hope for more snack-themed events in the future, now that I know I’d run 15k for chocolate on a chilly day!